2017: The Year in Sports Law

It was a busy year, on and off the field. While players and coaches were vying for championships, lawyers and judges were working overtime behind the scenes, sorting out some enormous legal issues in the sports world.

By far the most far-reaching sports story of the year has to be current efforts to legalize sports gambling nationwide. New Jersey's case was argued before the Supreme Court this month, and a verdict is expected next year.

Not a legal story per se, but one that could have an enormous impact on sports-related litigation, researchers believe they can now test for CTE before a patient dies, making it possible to identify more precisely when the player suffered the damage.

And speaking of the NFL, arbitrators and courts are still sorting out exactly how much power NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has when it comes to player discipline -- 2017 saw a few reversals on the matter of Elliott's suspension.

A case that's been simmering for years boiled over in 2017, with allegations not just that a long-tenured USAG team doctor assaulted hundreds of female athletes over decades, but that his employers knew, and either did nothing or actively tried to cover it up.

The sexual harassment and assault allegations that permeated every headline this year made their way into sports broadcasting is as well, with at least six former players named in a suit against the NFL Network involving on-set harassment.